Golden Triangle Church on the Rock
Adult Sunday School
Gtcotr/SunSc062517
Date: June 25
Monthly Theme: Family
Monthly
Theme Scripture:
Genesis 18:19 I
have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep
the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham
all that I have promised.
Weekly Topic: The Blended
Family
Scripture
Reference:
Psalms 68:6 God
sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into
prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Commentary:
The traditional family model, as seen in the
Bible is original to God’s plan for family. This model is built around a
husband and wife, who become father and mother to their children. God’s best
for every adult is that they were raised in a traditional family according to
His design and therein equipped to raise the next generation in accordance with
the same standards, benefits, and blessings. Unfortunately, God’s intended
original family model has not been every family’s experience. The 21st
Century family experience is often anything but traditional.
The documented rise in the rate of latch key
children, two parent income households, divorce, pregnancies outside of
traditional marriage, and same sex marriage union laws in America has left many
children without the benefits that the traditional family model is intended to
afford. As well, the ever increasing demands on time, along with the
attractions that cell phones and the internet offer, create extra hurdles for
families and rob the family of opportunities to get to know and grow with each
other.
Interaction between siblings and shared
experiences are no longer a given within a family. These things are added to
the fact that most children in America under the age of 18 do not live in a
home with both of their biological parents.
Just because a family does not follow the
traditional model does not in and of itself make the family dysfunctional.
However, it can serve to add complexities not normally encountered by the
traditional family setting. Step parents, foster parents, adoptive parents,
single parents, and children in categories of his kids, her kids, our kids, and
their kids all weigh in on the issues many 21st Century families
experience.
Christian families and the Church as a whole
desperately need to get back the reins on the family and provide some basis for
growing the family God’s way, without respect to the type of family they have.
The complexities blended families encounter are a fact in America and the
church and this is not going to change. One of the biggest contributors to
dysfunctional families is the fact that many parents today, without respect to
what category of parent they are, weren’t parented themselves. Our hope is to
recognize the value of every family and give them tools to grow in the grace of
God to best benefit their future.
Growing
families will benefit from:
1. Attending Church and worshipping together as a family.
a. Children need to see Church as a
family activity
b. Children will find
it difficult to keep from imitating their parents.
c. There is a need to
know what your child is learning about God.
2. Family time around the dinner table eating together.
a. One of the four
pillars of Church growth and continued Church health is the act of breaking
bread together. (Acts 2:42)
b. There is something
special that happens to a group of people when they eat a blessed meal together
that cannot be duplicated anywhere else.
c. The Israelites were
commanded to observe the Sabbath each week as a time to be spent with the
family. Among the Jewish culture today the Sabbath still begins with the whole
family sitting down to eat together at Sundown on Friday evenings.
d. God is even now
preparing a feast in heaven for us to all sit down and eat together as a
family. This will be the marriage supper of the Lamb.
3. Building memories during planned family vacations together.
a. Vacations force the
family to spend time together in an inescapable and unavoidable controlled
environment rather than separating themselves in their rooms or otherwise away
from the family.
b. Vacations allow
families to build memories that add strength and health to the family
experience. One day every person is left with only the memories they have made.
c. Travel together
forces some family dynamics that help to hone and sharpen life and give parents
opportunity to solidify relationships within the family.
4. Family recreation and spontaneous fun together.
a. God designed group
recreation to help develop social structure. Whether in the animal kingdom or with
mankind, from goats butting heads to dogs playing chase, kids wrestling to
friendly group competitions, learning both how to win and how to lose in a safe
setting is important to personal skill development and mental health.
b. When a family takes
time to play games and enjoy outdoor recreation together children get an
opportunity to see their parents on a new level which will one day become
valuable as the child develops into an adult. Children need to realize that
adults don’t always win and kids don’t always lose.
c. Recreation allows
the parent to assess each child’s strength and offer opportunities for each
child and parent to show and sharpen their personal skills and demonstrate
their individual knowledge so that every person is given a realistic chance to
be a winner.
Points to Ponder:
·
The Bible is filled
with blended family accounts.
·
The family of God is
a blended family … we are all His adopted children.
·
Family is the will
of God.
·
God ordained the
family before He ordained the Church.
·
Nothing else is
designed to nor can anything else take the place of family.
·
Family is a
biological, spiritual, or covenant bond between people.
·
Family is the
pattern of God’s will for mankind … in heaven and on earth.
·
The only thing God
is working for is family.
·
Society has adopted
a politically correct approach instead of a biblically correct approach to define
what constitutes a family.
·
A family is not
determined by legal statutes but rather by God’s design.
